Ray Allen on Fire, Celtics Lead Game 2 54-48 at Half

Here we go – game two. It will be very interesting to see how the Celtics start this game. They need to get off early and find easy opportunities to score. They also need to be much more aggressive on the boards and on defense. Their defensive rotations were much slower than usual in game one and I’d expect them to put a lot of effort into correcting that tonight.

With Kobe on Rondo again tonight it looks like the Celtics are trying to take advantage of Ray Allen’s size advantage on Derek Fisher. Worked well the first time, not so well the second time.

Lakers offense working like a finely-oiled machine – lots of ball movement and patience.

Lamar Odom struggling again tonight – two quick fouls and no points…okay make that three fouls after the charge.

The Celtics started this game on a much better note than Thursday night. Rondo was much more aggressive in consistently driving the ball to the hoop. They shot 48% from the field and outrebounded the Lakers 13-9. Ray Allen set the tone with 10 points. For L.A., Kobe was fairly passive, stayed within the offense and looked to set up his teammates.

Bynum seems to be getting a lot more PT in the first half than he did Thursday night…his knee must be feeling pretty good.

Why would they give Ray Allen any amount of space – now 5 for 5 on three pointers tonight. And now Kobe’s back in the game and guarding him.

WOW – Allen gets open against Kobe and knocks down his sixth three!

A Shelden Williams siting, not that’s newsworthy.

OOOhhh questionable offensive foul on Kobe puts him on the bench with three fouls. Refs try to make up for it with a similarly bad call on Ray Allen on the other end.

Ron Artest has had a horrible game on the offensive end of the floor.

As good as the Celtics played for most of the first half they only go into the locker room leading by six as the Lakers score the last seven points, including a great steal and three pointer from Kobe. Ray Allen has been unconscious this first half tying an NBA Finals record with seven three pointers in a game. Boston has displayed a much greater sense of urgency and more hustle tonight in their rebounding and defense. The Lakers are shooting less than 36 percent from the field and are 1-9 from behind the arc. This is certainly one of those special games from Ray Allen but the Celtics will need the rest of the team to contribute in the second half if they are going to win. I expect Kobe to come out of the half ready to make a statement, similar to the way he did in game one.